Into a Nest of Secrets
by my arbalest
Summary: A month after Tsunade-sama became the 6th Hokage, Hinata goes to her first A-rank Reconnaissance Mission with Kakashi, Shikamaru and Kiba. Little does she know her early morning jitters would eventually involve life-and-death decisions, sacrifices, a long lost secret and everything else to do with a certain avenger. REEDITED. Rated M for future Gore, Violent Scenes and Profanitie
1. Chapter 1

A/N

A little bit of introduction about the past , before we go to the main story, so please bear with me...

Reviews are very much welcome

thank you and enjoy...

Disclaimer : Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto

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**Chapter 1**

_**Prologue**_

_On a time and age of senseless wars, there once lived a monk who wanted to accomplish one thing: Peace. He believed that the endless battles were nothing more than excuses made by humans plagued by hatred. A war would not settle resentments; it will only lead to more wars and more hatred. The monk, who was by nature a pacifist, could only take as much bloodshed and destruction. He had seen enough rage and animosity that has pulverized humans into a mere pathetic race. If only humanity could see in a different perspective. Such negative emotions could not possibly free people from the catastrophe that has become of their race._

_It was then that he discovered the truth about chakra and their endless possibilities. Driven with the desire for change and tranquility, the monk ventured to different lands, hurdled through mountains and wide terrains, ventured into unknown territories and spread his ideals and principles of the Shinobi Sect religion. He marveled people with his vision and his plight for change. Men and women were awed of his ideals, and not long was the monk recognized throughout the world as the Savior._

_He defeated beasts of the most powerful forms. Ever the selfless man that he is, he sealed the beasts unto himself. He became the first jinchuuriki._

_But life could only last long. Nothing like heavy responsibilities such as power and control could last forever. Nature would always take its course. His acceptance of the limitation of a man's life pushed him to divide his powers into nine partitions. He consigned to a stone grave the container of the tenth partition, and casted it to the heavenly bodies. It became the moon._

_He inscribed into stones his misgivings and happenings in struggling with the beasts. He could only hope that his descendants would be enlightened of his struggles._

_His ideals, philosophies, goals and dreams – everything he wanted but couldn't pursue anymore – he would institute to his two offsprings. The first who inherited his vision, believed that power held the key to a much aspired peace; the second who inherited his body, professed his belief that love would be the catalyst to peace._

_Moments before his death, he verbalized his decision: his second son would become a living embodiment of his will and become the successor._

_Seeing the ire of the first, the monk could only hope that his decision would not put his life's efforts into demise. He feared that unnecessary wars would result of this decision. Mankind would again take sides, forced to be involved in a situation where no possible party would give way to the heeds of the other. He was not ignorant of man's nature to compete, to survive, to seek something that which he does not have. He surmised that man will resolve to anything, ANYTHING to gain an upper hand over his opponent – may it be an opportunity, a lucky hunch, a weapon. And he could only hope that what he once divided into ten parts would not become entangled into the ugly web of horror for man's conquest of power._

_His fear could not be abated, no; he cannot bear to part of this world knowing he could have done something to create a solution to a possible predicament of the future. His beasts can be controlled by seals, and by seals he needed chakra. Wind. Lightning. Earth. Water. Fire._

_He was the only one who has the ability to control all five elements. There would not be anyone who will have the same control and knowledge of the secrets of these elements for a long period of time, he believed. All elemental techniques could only go as far as to become either an artifact of the past on the brink of extinction, or a survivor._

_He could only give limited powers to each element. And for that he needed a container: one that does not seek to use it on his own, but for benefit of ninja diversity and peace. Someone who would use these techniques to protect and save mankind, and not to harm them. A person who will use each element for love, and not for power . A container with a pure heart. This man – this selfless person – would be become both an anchor and a pillar of the future ninja world. _

_With the limited time he had, he raised himself from his deathbed and grabbed a blank scroll from his bedside drawer. A seal is needed, yes – a seal that would give its container the power to wield all five elements for his perusal, however limited this power may be. He shall be granted the ability to create and break seals, depending on the container's abilities._

_Ten minutes later he had designed and created the seal. He raised to looked at the fruit of his labor, grabbed a kunai and allowed a few drops of his blood to blot the scroll and rolled it._

_He needed the scroll to remain a secret, away from the knowledge of his sons, of any power-hungry men who will undoubtedly grab the opportunity to use the secret for their own good and start a war. He required a keeper, a third party, one he could trust with the scroll's existence and ensure the safety of the powerful seal._

_He needed his long time friend and confidant. He needed his gardener._

_He summoned the thirty two year old woman, and explained to her his decision regarding his sons, his worries of the future and of his "back-up" plan. The woman listened to his master with all attention and respect befitted for a dying Savor and friend. She took in everything he said. She gave him her loyalty and assurance, and promised to guard with utmost secrecy the nature and contents of the scroll even if it cost her death._

_He was pleased with her words, and he allowed himself to lie down on his bed and rest. She tucked the scroll inside her kimono where she kept a small hidden compartment. The gardener exited the Savior's room and closed the door. Moments later the monk took his final breaths and died._

_After the monk's death, the gardener traveled to all ninja countries, watched how different shinobis started and ended their feuds and wars. She travelled far wide, disguised herself as a woman in search for a job as gardener. She fled from one country to another, and guarded her master's secret for decades._

_She finally settled on a mountainous area on the south, where she found bliss in a secret valley filled with different plants and shady trees. She secluded herself away from the prying eyes from villagers, and became a hermit. Tales of her seclusion, her despise of curious trespassers and unwelcoming treatment to the general population spread to all ninja lands. Rumors that the female hermit guarded limitless amount of treasures spread like wildfire. People who trudged and sought her presence (primarily for treasure hunting) came and suddenly vanished on the lands near the valley. These strange occurrences inspired myths and folktales for decades to come. Ghost stories about the female hermit served as bedtime stories for children for centuries. No proof whatsoever was established, but people understood and came to avoid the area._

_ Flowers, plants and fields grazed the fertile valley and flowed with abundant natural life._

_A small lake glistened as the moon's light illuminated the secluded valley._

_Hidden beneath a secret cave in the valley on the said mountainous area in the south was a wooden century old red casket._

_There sat an age old secret of a unique scroll any shinobi in this troubled ninja world can only dream of._

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_A/N_

Will introduce our main characters next chapter, so please bear with me, I'm still a newbie :)v

thanks.

xoxo,

myarbalest


	2. Chapter 2

A/N

Woke up on the wrong side of the wrong bed. Argh.  
currently uninspired and on a serious case of mental block.

Took me five minutes to find the word I was looking for : regret. I am THAT slow today. tsk.

anyway, here's chapter one of this story. I hope you will enjoy it, and discover who I was refererring to in this chapter :)

Reviews are very much welcome and appreciated.

xoxo,

myarbalest

Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto.

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**Chapter 2**

Tomatoes… Two red, plump, and fresh tomatoes.

That was the only thing a six year old girl could offer to the shouting and heavily bandaged seven year old boy who was confined on the hospital room next to her oka-san's.

She woke up in the middle of the night snuggled close to her sick mother. She heard of grunts, groans, and finally a piercing shout from the room next door. She sleepily rubbed her doe-shaped lavender-tinted eyes, and checked if her mother was roused by the voice – she wasn't. She slowly dragged herself out of bed and tip toed outside her mother's room. Funny how the loud sounds produced from the person occupying next door did not wake the nurses who were busy in their working stations. She waited for someone to come, someone to calm the sobs she heard from the adjacent room. A voice perhaps to comfort the person and words encouragement to go back to sleep like how her oka-san does? Nothing came. Nobody else was there with this person. Muffled sobs could only be heard in the adjacent room.

She could only imagine how the person felt right now: lonely and afraid. All those times she had nightmares while her oka-san was confined here in the hospital, nobody came and comforted her. She would gather her knees and press her chin above it, and rock herself to sleep. She would mutter reassuring words to her crying self, until her body gave out and embraced the comforts of sleep. She empathized the being residing next door. When one just had nightmares, wouldn't they want to be comforted? She would, and maybe this person would want someone there too.

The door was ajar, and she hesitantly tiptoed and pushed the door open to look inside. It was dark, but the moon provided enough light for her to examine the person whose back was turned to her. It was a child, she thought, about the same age as her. A head covered with raven hair pressed on a pillow, and the hospital blanket draped from his torso to his feet. His shoulders shook after each sob, and sniffs could be heard from the child in the bed.

She carefully examined the room. It was simple just like her oka-san's room. But a lot of things were lacking from this room. It didn't have flowers industriously arranged in a vase by her small soft hands like her oka-san's bedside table had. It lacked the aroma of tea and chicken soup that invaded her nostrils when she entered this room, unlike her oka-san's. It didn't have a basket of oranges, apples, tomatoes and strawberries placed beside the flowers, a gift from her father she would occasionally feed her mother with. This room resounded of loneliness, inexplicable coldness and abandonment. Her heart cried out for the child confined in this room.

She looked at the bed again, and was startled that the child was facing her now. There sat a boy with chin length black hair who had a bandaged left cheek. His dark eyes pierced her. Was he angry? She could not tell. Those cold eyes examined her small form, both curious and annoyed at her unwanted presence. Her right foot stepped back from the room, and she readied herself for a reprimand from the child and mentally prepared herself for apologies from her part and bolt out of the room once she had given enough respectful bows for her blatant disregard of privacy. She was about to spurt her apologies when she heard an unmistakable grumbling stomach from the boy. He was hungry.

Still unable to coherently express her apologies, she rushed back to her oka-san's room. She looked inside the basket, and was disappointed that she could only find two tomatoes. There wasn't any leftover soup from her oka-san's dinner too. She could only offer two red tomatoes, and she wished she could give more the boy. She grabbed the tomatoes and stopped in front of the door that led to the boy's room. It was half-opened. She was nervous, but an empty stomach in the middle of the night would not aid a sick person to his recovery, she reasoned out. Her hands shook while she entered the room, and loudly gulped while she placed the food on his bedside table. She refused to look at the boy, afraid for his reactions and what he may do to her. She could feel heat all over her body, her ever present blush tainted her porcelain skin from head to toe. She was that flustered and intimidated by this boy's presence, for reasons she could not explain. She backed away from the bedside table, absentmindedly poked her index fingers together and remained silent. She would not look at him, but she could feel his eyes that followed her small figure, wary of her actions.

Awkward moments later and the boy finally reached for the tomatoes, smelled them and eagerly ate. She was relieved that he ate the tomatoes. and before she could stop herself, years of engrained manners kicked in and she found her small hands tipping a pitcher of water to the empty glass on his bedside table. She was shocked by her actions, but did not regret it. She carefully placed the pitcher in the bedside table, stepped back and watched as the boy drank the water.

Silence filled the room again. She nervously tugged her jacket down, still unable to find words to the boy she now realized was looking at her, sans the cold aura he emanated a while ago. She realized that maybe the boy needed to rest now, so she made a respectful bow to him and silently walked out the door and closed it. She went back to her mother's room and carefully snuggled to her oka-san's sleeping form. She hoped the boy was somehow comforted by her efforts, and hoped that his nightmares would not come back to haunt him again. She released a sigh she did not know she withheld all along, and smiled. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

She woke up early that morning, and readied herself to go back to her compound. She kissed her oka-san's cheeks, promised her that she will come back later, and headed out of her room. She glanced to the boy's room, and found its doors open. The bed was vacant and the linens were cleanly folded. The boy must have been discharged early.

She trudged her way to the compound, and thought of the boy she met at the hospital. She was sure she met him before, though she could not remember where and when. Maybe it was only her overactive imagination, she mused. She greeted the guards stationed in front of her compound, and went straight to her room. School was her agenda now, and she only had one and a half hour left to prepare.

She jogged to her classroom, academy students littered along the hallways. She was far from late, 30 minutes before classes would start, but she liked the feeling of being early and ready. She hurriedly composed herself and placed her backpack on her preferred seat at the back. Two of her classmates talked loudly and three boys were in a heated argument at the exit door of their classroom. She remained rooted to her seat and silently observed her classmates.

She went to the girl's bathroom five minutes later for a quick bladder break, washed her hands and hurried back to her classroom. A few students had arrived, and the classroom was getting rowdier, mainly because of the presence of one raven-haired classmate of hers seated a few rows in front of her. They had never talked before, and he seemed the type who doesn't want to be bothered so she never made ways for conversations. His ever present fangirls were already handfuls, and she would not burden him with talks that would only make him more annoyed than he already was.

She approached her seat and opened her bag to get empty scrolls and pens. Her lavender-tinted eyes widened at the newly added contents of her backpack. She could feel her blush creeping from her neck to her face.

She scanned the room, and frantically searched for clues to whoever opened her bag. Someone must have placed them inside her backpack while she was away. She looked at her classmates, no one seemed to notice her discovery, and continued to search their eyes for any affirmation.

Large lavender-tinted eyes met with dark obsidian ones. He stared at her.

She blushed. She darted her eyes to the ground and started to fidget. Index fingers started to meet and she could only drop herself to her seat before her legs would give her away and faint. Thirty agonizing seconds later she finally mustered the courage to meet his gaze again.

Her eyes met his, and he nodded. He plopped his right hand to his chin, and stared at the window. That impassive expression again painted in his elegant face.

She could not believe just what happened. It was unexpected and totally out of the blue shocked her. She went to look at her backpack again, and poked at the newly added contents. This really did happen, and it was not a product of her overactive imagination. She felt herself relax, and couldn't suppress a sincere smile.

A few hours later, she found herself enjoying her delicious lunch and she couldn't be more contented of the small things life had offered her today : A spot underneath a shady tree, a very satisfying bento, some green tea from her canteen, and two plump red tomatoes she found inside her backpack.

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A/N

I know it wasn't exciting, but I had to establish something for future chapters.

thank you so much for reading.

my doubts are getting the best of me :(


	3. Chapter 3

A/N

Here is chapter 3. Hope you will be able to recognize the characters in here :)

Reviews are always welcome. they would be very helpful for a newbie like me.

thanks!

xoxo,

myarbalest

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

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**Chapter 3**

Nothing, Hinata believed, could ever deter her mood today. She couldn't suppress her widest smile, the pink hue of her cheeks, the giddy-happy walk and the fast beating of her heart as she made her way back to the Hyuuga Compound . She never felt this good before, she was on cloud nine, and this morning proved to be the best morning she had in her entire Jyuuken-pumped life. Not even the tomatoes she received from her classmate two days ago would beat the level of happiness she had right now. There can only be one reason for this over-the-moon feeling she was experiencing right now. Uzumaki Naruto.

The thought of Uzumaki Naruto only made her eyes twinkle more as she remembered what happened this morning. She finally got the chance to talk with him, and not just in a simple "thank you" and the weird "Y-you're w-we-we-welcome, N-Naruto-kun" statement, but in a conversation filled with a friendly exchange and recognition.

"Aaaah! What the hell, Kiba! Your stupid mutt just bit me. You bastard, control your damn dog!"

"That's what you get for stealing a piece of beef jerky from my pack, you moron!"

"I was not stealing your beef jerky, dog breath! I was just approaching you to borrow your colored pens because I left mine behind! Your stupid dog just jumped on me and bit my hand!"

"Well if you would just wash your hands after you eat your pork ramen, shitface, then maybe Akamaru would not mistake your moronic hands as some piece of meat!"

"Maybe if you feed your dog regularly and train him like every proper Inuzuka then maybe Akamaru would know the difference between meat and people, dimwit!"

"Don't you dare talk about my family and Akamaru that way, you stupid son of a -"

"Kiba, behave yourself. Why? Because Iruka-sensei would place you again on detention -"

"Stop grabbing my shirt, bug boy, this is none of your business!"

"This is going to be troublesome"

"Kiba, maybe you and Akamaru would come to the barbeque grill with me and Shikamaru to explain to him different kinds of meat –"

"This is not the time to talk about food, Fats—"

"What did you just call me, Naruto?"

"N-n-nothing, I wasn't calling you nothing!"

"Still troublesome"

"I just wanted some God damn colored pens!"

"You're not getting any of mine, ramen breath!"

"Ha! As if that interests me anymore, bitch!"

.

.

.

"A-aah, u-uhm, N-Naruto-kun, y-you c-can h-have –"

"Shut up, Dobe"

"What did you say, teme?"

"Don't call him teme, baka!"

"Ouch! Sakura-chan, that hurts"

"As if I care, you baka! Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"

"Get your filthy hands off my Sasuke-kun, Forehead!"

"Since when did my Sasuke-kun become yours, Ino-Pig! I love him and he's mine!"

"Sasuke-kun would not be interested in you coz he's mine, billboard brow!"

"Tse. You're both annoying."

"Sakura-chan's not annoying. Take that back, teme?"

"You're more annoying, Naruto!"

"Wanna fight with me, Kiba?"

"Hell yeah, I'm gonna beat your sorry ass and feed you to the dogs!"

"Let's get it on, asshole!"

"Kiba, you don't want Naruto's behind to be fed to –"

"Shino, enough of your explanations!"

"You people are all troublesome."

"I'm getting hungry, Shikamaru."

"I'm gonna punch your face so hard you would be unconscious for like a week!"

"Well,bastard, I'm gonna strangle your dog here and drown him in the river and—"

"u-uhm, Naruto-kun, i-if you still w-want - "

"Feh. You are all idiots."

"What did you say, Sasuke-kun?"

"She's not talking to you billboard brow!"

"Sakura-chan-"

"Get back here so we can start, Naruto, you dumbass!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE!". Iruka-sensei bellowed to a stunned group of children.

"Iruka-sensei!"

"I was out of this classroom for 10 minutes and I come back seing this! Get back to your seats so I can assign you into pairs for our Art Class!". Grunts and movement of chairs were heard in the classroom.

"But, Iruka-sensei! I forgot to bring mine and I don't have any coloredpens!"

" You don't have to shout, Naruto I'm right in front of you!" The teacher looked at his students and asked. "Does anyone have an extra box of colored pens?"

Hinata, ever the silent and meek girl that she is, slowly raised her small hands and blushed. Iruka caught sight of her hand.

"Aah, that's very good of you, Hinata-chan". Iruka smiled at her, and she blushed. "Naruto, you will pair up with Hinata-chan and start coloring your workbooks now!". Her face went from pale to deep crimson in seconds. Naruto approached her and sat on an empty chair beside her. She was trying her best not to faint. Iruka continued pairing other students and everyone started doing their seatwork.

"That's very nice of you to bring an extra box, Hinata! Thank you so much!" His cerulean eyes were wide and his smile was contagious. He dragged his chair nearer, and Hinata couldn't help but flush into a deeper shade of red from the nearness of Naruto.

"Baka. Obviously you do not have any understanding and respect for personal space."

"What did you say, teme?"

Hinata couldn't take anymore of these fights, and they have not even started on their seatwork yet. She quickly grabbed the coloring pens from her backpack and presented them to Naruto. "AAh ,u-um, N-Naruto-kun! W-we need to s-start our seatwork. W-which co-coloring p-pens wou-would you like to h-have? " She blushed furiously. She tried to increase the volume of her voice, but it only came out as mousy. But nevertheless Naruto stopped glaring at Sasuke and turned to her.

"Really? That's awesome! I'd like that one on your left, Hinata!" he shouted and flashed her his trademark smile. Hinata could only provide a small smile, and she couldn't help but blush more. Good thing Naruto started using her pens and did not see her blush.

She couldn't help but make quick glances at the boy's face beside her while they were doing their seatwork. A quick glance there, a quick glance here. She made sure that she would not be caught openly staring at him, and hoped that he would not reprimand her if she were to be caught.

A hand suddenly banged in front of her desk and she squeaked.

"Wh-what is it, N-Naruto-kun?". She turned pale from his sudden outburst. She feared she was caught looking at him from time to time, and that Naruto was angry for her actions.

"This part about plants and flowers, I don't get it! I haven't seen these stuffs and I dunno what color I should use! Should these flowers be colored in orange? " He was clearly frustrated.

Hinata glanced at the page that Naruto was referring. She saw that most of the drawings were colored with orange. She giggled at his predicament.

"T-the o-ones on t-the left are irises, N-Naruto-kun. Y-you might w-want to use the b-blue violet p-pens. A-and the o-ones on your r-right are thymes, the e-edges are whi-white, and the inside is gr-green." She patiently explained to him.

"Wow, you know a lot of this things, Hinata, you're really smart! Where didya learn them anyway? " He shouted at her shy classmate. Hinata couldn't help but fidget her fingers and turn red.

"I-I ha-have a g-garden in my h-house, a-and I p-plant their s-seeds a-and water t-them. I a-always see these p-lants there. " She bowed her head because she did not want to faint at the way Naruto's mouth openly gaped at her.

So everytime Naruto asked her about what proper color to use on their seatwork, she would again happily explain to him. Her weird stuttering was always present, but with the amount of time she shared working and talking with Naruto, she couldn't be happier. She never thought she would be able to talk this long with him, and this seatwork just made Hinata's day.

They finally finished their works, handed it to Iruka-sensei and went back to their seats to pack their bags and go home. Naruto suddenly appeared in front of her. She gasped and reflexively placed her right hand to her thumping chest.

"Thanks a bunch, Hinata, I couldn't have done it without you! Here are your pens, you're a lifesaver! But I gotta go, wouldn't want dog breath to beat me at anything!". He flashed his dazzling smile and ran out of the classroom, obviously trying to catch Kiba for their "unfinished business."

Hinata was stunned. She couldn't believe that her crush just came to her and praised her. _He praised her!_ She made a few breaths and finally got to courage to head outside the Academy and made her way back home.

.

.

.

She smiled at the happy moments she had with Naruto. All those times she wished she could have friendly talks with him finally came true. Giddy and still experiencing euphoria over her favorite classmate, she failed to recognize the solemn glances the Hyuuga guards gave her as she walked inside their compound. Only when she walked into the hallway did she sense that the compound seemed to be clouded in an aura of sorrow and depression.

As she silently trudged into her room, a man with a commanding and elegant stature opened the sliding door of her room and entered. She bowed and greeted to her father.

"Otou-san"

"Hinata"

She waited for him to talk; an announcement of a party, the arrival of her tutor for her calligraphy, or worse, a reprimand - anything to break the silence that has suffocated her and her room. So she waited for the Hyuuga leader to speak. And she was heartbroken by what he revealed.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but your mother died at the hospital this morning." She saw the tightening of his jaw as he spoke. "I'm sorry, but she's not coming back with us, Hinata." He swiftly left her room and she listened until she could no longer hear his footfalls.

All the happiness she experience that morning crashed and burned into a pitfall of devastation and misery. Gone. Her mother was gone. And like that time when her younger sister Hanabi defeated her in a spar in one of the Hyuuga's dojo, she ran.

She ran outside her room, dashed outside her compound. She ran away from the training grounds and away from the Academy. She ran until her small feet felt like lead and she slumped and surrendered herself onto grass. She found herself in front of the river.

She did not notice a boy who walked along the sidewalk and stopped when he saw her. A pair of obsidian eyes watched her as she bawled and cried her heart out for her dead mother.


End file.
